The HSE is for the first time working with content creators as it launches a new youth vaping and nicotine prevention campaign.
The HSE has said that the campaign has been specifically tailored to target young people and highlight the harmful effects that vaping can have on their mental, physical and oral health.
The campaign was launched at Presentation De La Salle College in Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, this morning.
The HSE has said it has conducted research with young people and their parents about vaping and nicotine product use that has been used to inform the focus of the campaign.
The research found that one in four young people said they had tried vaping at least once while one in ten have tried nicotine pouches.
Over 70% of young people said they are exposed to vaping or vapes in school or in shops.
The HSE has said that children and young people are more at risk of the negative effects of nicotine, which include problems with attention and learning, mood, impulse control and anxiety as well as problems sleeping and mental health difficulties, such as low mood.
The HSE is now working with a number of content creators to get this message across.
The HSE campaign launch involved a demonstration of a damaged lung
The content creators involved in the campaign include Kasey Campion, Jim Flanno, Zara Deasy, Daragh McGurn, Shauna Davitt, Ryan Mar, Sean Fitzgerald and Billykiss.
It marks the first time that the HSE has engaged with content creators and influences to reach a younger audience.
The campaign will see a mix of organic social, paid social and creator-led content as well as expert-led content.
The HSE has said its new campaign will complement its existing public information campaign ‘Take a Deep Breath,’ which aims to inform parents and influential adults about vaping, and help facilitate meaningful discussions with young people.
The launch of the campaign in Bagenalstown was attended by the Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, members of the HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme and a number of doctors.
Teachers and students at Presentation De La Salle College were also involved in the campaign launch, with pupils giving a presentation on the effects of vaping.
Vaping does not often involve ‘aggressive form of peer pressure’, teacher says
Meanwhile, two teachers at the school, Paul Doyle, senior inter-county hurler with Carlow, and Brian Doyle, who is the manager of the Carlow Minor Hurling team, outlined how they have seen vaping effect young people at school and in playing sports.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with David McCullagh programme, Brian Doyle said that while it is not always obvious which students vape, there are some signs.
“As the class progresses, you would see students becoming less engaged, you would see them becoming that bit more tired or going back to the vacant daydreaming.
“They might not be as engaged or as interested in what’s going on around them in the room, whether they’re working in a group with others or talking or listening to myself.”
Mr Doyle said the benefits for teenagers who engage in exercise and do not vape are “clear” to see.
He said the ability to compete and run across the pitch would undoubtedly be diminished by engaging in vaping or nicotine products.
Mr Doyle said that, in his experience, vaping does not often involve “an aggressive form of peer pressure”.
One of the content creators involved in the campaign, Kasey Campion, who is also a radio presenter, has said that one of her “biggest icks is vaping”.
The HSE launched its campaign at Presentation De La Salle College in Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, this morning
She said: “Why would we put something into our bodies when we don’t 100% know the risks? I tried vapes on a few nights out when I was younger and thought it was pointless and not cool.
“I know a lot of younger people follow me, and I feel if I could go back and be a teenager again, I wish I had someone older to tell me not to try vaping,” Ms Campion said.
Speaking ahead of the campaign launch, Minister Murnane O’Connor said that the Government remains committed to protecting children and young people from the harms caused by nicotine use.
She said: “We have already banned the sale of vapes to under 18s and will extend this ban to all nicotine products as well as introducing restrictions on vape flavours and packaging.
“I am also working with Minister Carroll MacNeill to introduce a complete ban on the retail sale of disposable vapes.
“These measures, together with our sustained efforts to increase awareness of the risks of vaping through innovative campaigns such as this one, will help to protect our young people from a life of addiction and associated harms,” the minister added.
HSE National Lead for Tobacco Free Ireland Martina Blake said: “We have designed a campaign that speaks directly to young people about the risk of vaping, and to people who can make a difference and have an influence on young people such as parents and guardians, teachers and sports coaches. This campaign aims to contribute, alongside policy, to reversing these trends.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with David McCullagh, Ms Blake encouraged parents to have open conversations about the risks and negative effects of vaping and nicotine use.
She said parents should be clear with children about why they do not want them to vape and provide “clear, factual information”.
“Arm them with the skills that they’re able to manage this as they experience it through their peer group.
“We have a lot of content on our website… you’ll find lots of information on how to have conversations with children at an age-appropriate level.”
Michael Hickey, Principal of Presentation De La Salle College, Bagenalstown, said: “The school community welcomes the HSE’s new youth vaping and nicotine prevention campaign and the introduction of strong, national legislation that will ban the sale of disposable vapes and restrict how these products are marketed and advertised.
“Our school community and schools across Ireland are committed to educating our students about the risks and harmful effects of vaping and nicotine use,” Mr Hickey added.
The HSE’s Youth Vaping Survey was carried out by Ipsos B&A last month.
It consisted of a survey of 278 teenagers aged between 13 and 17, and 375 parents of at least one child aged between 10 and 17 years old.
As well as the findings mentioned above, eight in ten parents who responded expressed significant concern about the “pervasiveness, normalisation and acceptability” of vaping, and a majority also believe vaping leads to smoking.
Over three in four teenagers surveyed said they would feel comfortable talking to their parents about the subject.